


To You: In Seven Years

by Aquarius_Galaxy



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alive Kuchel Ackerman, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bottom Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Coming Out, Eren Is a Little Shit, Eren Yeager Has Long Hair, Fluff, Good Parent Grisha Yeager, High School, High School Student Eren Yeager, High School Student Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Ice Skating, Levi/Eren Yeager-centric, Long-Distance Friendship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Non-Graphic Smut, Top Eren Yeager
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2020-09-23 05:21:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20334745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquarius_Galaxy/pseuds/Aquarius_Galaxy
Summary: Moving back to Sina after seven years in Trost, Levi Ackerman was excited to start his junior year, but more importantly to see his long time boyfriend Eren Jaeger. Getting to see his long-distance relationship boyfriend after two years of dating was a secret Levi was ecstatic to surprise Eren with. That is, until he actually sees him. Not only does Eren treat Levi as the new kid and pretends they don't know each other, Levi finds out Eren has been keeping a secret of his own.*Yo, so I think I struggled with writing the summary more than the actual story, but I swear its better than it sounds lol*





	1. Chapter 1

Sina Rose High School. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. 

Levi chuckled to himself at his own thoughts as he swerved into the first available parking spot he saw. His brakes squealed in protest but he’d worry about getting them fixed later. For now, he needed to focus on the task at hand: surviving his first day at his new school. 

Levi Ackerman, aged 17, in his junior year. He and his mother, Kuchel, had just moved back to his original hometown of Sina after seven years in Trost. A less-than-average height, raven haired boy, Levi was a small ball of fire and sass, and with every right to be, if the numerous figure skating medals and awards were anything to go by. Trost had been a new door to opportunity for Levi in his young figure skating career. He had been noticed by the great coach and figure skating legend Rico Brzenska, and was recruited for her junior league team. After surpassing the age to qualify for junior league competitions, Levi made the decision to focus on his last two years of high school. His father hadn’t agreed with his decision to take a break from competing however, and Levi hadn’t heard from him since. Unable to support both herself and her son in such a demanding city, Levi’s mother moved them back to Sina, in hopes of starting over new once again.

The small town hadn’t changed much, Levi noticed, though the population certainly had grown. There were bound to be more people who didn’t know Levi than those who did, and he could only hope that that would be good news for him. The less people that knew him the better. He wasn’t particularly fond of the few people that did know him, with the exception of one person.

Eren Jaeger.

Levi and Eren had been friends since their years in elementary school together before Levi moved. Eren’s mother, Carla, was a seamstress who designed Levi’s costumes. While Carla and Kuchel would sit at the Jaeger’s kitchen table going over costume designs and programs, Levi and Eren would go to the brunet’s playroom and have imaginary adventures, playing until they both fell asleep on Eren’s bed, or until Kuchel called to Levi that it was time to go home. The boys spent every moment they could together, outside of school and Levi’s competitions. When it was announced after Levi’s tenth birthday that they would be moving to Trost, the two boys were heartbroken at their impending separation and cried together for days. 

_ “You’ll write to me right? And call?” Eren asked sleepily. He and Levi laid in Eren’s small twin sized bed on Levi’s last night in Sina._

__

_“Tch. Of course I will. But if you don’t write or call me back, I’ll bus my way here just to kick your sorry ass.” Levi grumbled. Eren giggled at his friend’s choice of words and turned on his side to face him._

_ __ _

_“You’d never ride the bus, it's too dirty and there’s too many people.” Eren snickered. Levi scoffed and turned on his side to face Eren as well._

_ _ __ _ _

_“As if that would stop me from coming to see you.” Levi said, closing his eyes. The boys laid in silence for a few moments, too tired to talk much, but unwilling to spend their last hours together asleep. Eren studied Levi’s face, illuminated by the moonlight pouring through the window. His fingers traced over pale features, his eyes committing them to memory. He wanted to remember every detail, the slope of Levi’s small nose, his thin pink lips, drawn together in a straight line. His high cheekbones that, no matter how much older Levi got, always protruded out slightly, in a more feminine way than was normal for his age. Eren wanted to remember Levi, remember his best friend and all his perfections and flaws._

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

_“I’ll miss you.” Eren whispered quietly. Grey eyes opened to stare into teal ones softly, the softest Eren had ever seen from Levi._

_ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _

_“I’ll miss you too Eren.” Levi whispered back. He pulled Eren closer and snuggled up to his chest, wrapping his arms around him. They listened to the other’s breathing until their own evened out, falling asleep. Carla found them this way the next morning, and it broke her heart to have to wake them for Levi to go. _

_ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _

After the move, Levi and Eren managed to talk to each other on the phone almost everyday after Levi’s practices. Even separated by hundreds of miles, they remained best friends and devoted all of their free time to each other. After four years of separation, they were still close as ever, and made a point to FaceTime every weekend. On the Saturday before they started ninth grade, Levi had been faced with a shocking question from Eren during their video call.

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Levi will you be my boyfriend?”_

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Levi put down the shirt he was folding and looked at the screen, confusion written all over his features. “What?”_

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Will you be my boyfriend?” Eren repeated the question. He looked at Levi with a determined, yet nervous expression while pulling the hem of his hoodie in his hands._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“I mean, we’ve been friends a long time, longer than we’ve been friends with anyone else, and I know we trust each other a lot and I just thought that maybe it would be a good idea, I mean, at least as our first relationship, you know? And if it didn’t work out, I know we could still be friends and it wouldn’t be weird, so I thought -”_

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Okay.” Levi cut off Eren’s rambling. Eren stared wide-eyed at the camera with his mouth gaping open and closed like a fish._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Huh?” he finally managed to choke out._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“I said okay. I’ll be your boyfriend.” Levi said simply, ignoring the blush that crept over his cheeks. Eren’s face flushed and he scratched the back of his neck, grinning shyly._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Yeah, okay.” _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It had been two years since then, and Levi still got butterflies when he thought about his boyfriend. Maintaining a long distance relationship had been hell, and he was more than ready to finally be back with Eren. He had been busy over the past two weeks helping his mother with moving and unpacking, and had yet to see the brunet. However, that was about to change.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Levi stepped out of his light blue 1965 Chevy pickup truck, ignoring how far of a drop it was from his seat to the pavement. He adjusted the straps on his baggy jean overalls and the black choker around his neck before grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He checked to make sure that his shirt, a cropped red T-shirt, wasn’t riding up under the straps of his bag before turning back to the truck. He pulled his keys out of the ignition and pocketed them, then shut the door. As he began walking towards the school entrance, he felt excitement begin to creep up inside of him. Levi couldn’t wait to see Eren, to lay eyes on him in person and touch him for the first time in seven years.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

As soon as he entered the halls of the school, grey eyes immediately sought out teal ones. Levi searched frantically for the familiar mop of brown hair that he knew to be his Eren. He felt more and more disappointed the longer he searched with no sign of the brunet. By the time the bell had rang, Levi felt defeated. He would have to wait for another time to find Eren, as being late to class on his first day would not do well on his records. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Levi quickly found his classroom, and entered, being the first student to show. He introduced himself to his first period teacher, an intimidating man named Mr. Shadis, who showed Levi to his seat, and informed him that it was his spot for the rest of the year.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

After he settled in, Levi pulled out his supplies and began idly doodling in his notebook while he waited for the class to start. He was sulking, and he knew it, but he couldn’t help it. All he looked forward to since finding out he was moving back to Sina was seeing Eren, and now he had to wait even longer. He couldn’t text Eren and ask where he was because Eren didn’t know Levi was back. Levi kept it a secret, wanting to surprise his boyfriend, but that plan didn’t seem to be working in the raven’s favor. He sighed quietly, wallowing in what he knew to be petty self pity, and hoped that he and Eren at least had the same lunch period. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A few minutes passed with Levi continuing to doodle and wallow before a body slumped into the seat next to him. A scowl immediately set on Levi’s face as the person leaned over into Levi’s space. He was about to snap at the person before a voice stopped him cold in his tracks.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Hey, it looks like we’ll be partners for the year.” Levi turned his head slowly and his eyes met equally shocked teal ones looking right back at him. A look of recognition and shock flashed across the face of the boy next to him as he stared at Levi. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Levi?”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Eren.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I changed the title lol. When I posted the first chapter, I still didn't know what I wanted to call the story, so I put the first thing that came to mind. Now its named after the title of the first episode of AOT :)

Eren seemed to stare at Levi for what felt like forever. Levi shifted in his seat, uncomfortable under Eren’s scrutiny. When the brunet finally spoke it was not the response Levi was expecting.

“Huh.” Eren turned away from Levi and began taking out what he would need for class. Lev sat in stunned silence for a moment. Was Eren not happy to see him?

“I wanted to surprise you. Mom and I are back in Sina. Permanently.” Levi said, watching Eren take out his supplies. Eren seemed to be ignoring Levi’s presence, but Levi continued.

“I’m taking a break from skating actually. Dad didn’t really agree with that though, but we’re better off without him anyway, Mom and I can handle ourselves. We thought coming back to Sina was a great idea, we even managed to get a house on our old street-”

“That’s nice Levi.” Eren cut in sounding disinterested. 

“Right. Well, I’m happy to see you… aren’t you happy to see me too?” Levi asked. He didn’t know why Eren didn’t seem to want to be around Levi. He wracked his brain for their last few conversations they’d had over the phone. Levi couldn’t think of anything he had said that Eren could possibly still be upset about. Maybe Eren was upset that Levi was back in Sina and didn’t tell him?

“Yeah, of course. Listen, I really gotta pay attention in this class, or else Ma will throw a fit.” Eren said, looking up at Levi and smiling at him. “But we’ll talk later, okay?”  
Levi frowned a little but nodded and turned to face the front of the class. Mr. Shadis had already begun class, but Levi couldn’t focus no matter how hard he tried. Eren hadn’t seemed happy to see Levi at all. His smile wasn’t even genuine. Levi had known Eren practically his whole life, he considered himself very well versed in Eren’s real smile and his fake smile. That had definitely been a fake one.

Levi sat through his next three classes biting his lip and hardly paying attention. He couldn’t shake off Eren’s response, or lack thereof, to him coming back to Sina. By the time the bell rang signaling the start of lunch, Levi still hadn’t thought of a single possible reason Eren could be upset. The bell had shocked him out of his thoughts and he packed up his bag before flinging it over his shoulder. He turned to Eren only to find him already gone. Levi’s eyes shot to the door in time to see the back of Eren’s head being lost in the crowd of students flooding the hallway.

Levi sighed and stood from his seat and headed out towards the cafeteria. He chewed his lip as he moved down the line with his tray, eyeing the disgusting food that was being served. Nothing but the crackers were even recognizable as food, and Levi was sure that those were the only things on his tray that were actually edible. Resigning himself to being hungry, he looked around for Eren. He found him sitting at a table with nine other people.  
Levi walked over to the table and sat next to Eren. All eyes seemed to turn to him as he set his tray down on the table, shifting uncomfortably. He tried to ignore the stares and instead turned to his boyfriend and cleared his throat.

“Hey.” he said simply. There, Eren should respond to that easily enough, right? It wasn’t too overbearing, but not disinterested either, Levi thought.

“Oh. Hey Levi.” Eren said in a deadpan tone. Well that didn’t work.

“Eren.” a raven haired girl next to Eren spoke softly, giving the brunet a questioning look. Levi studied the girl, irritation bubbling up inside of him. Not only was she sitting too close to _his_ boyfriend, but she was also wearing a red scarf that looked eerily similar to one that Levi gifted to Eren one Christmas. He’d only heard her say one word, but he already felt contempt for the girl.__

_ __ _

“Oh right. Guys, this is Levi. He’s new I guess, he sits next to me in class. “ Eren explained to the curious teens at the table. “Levi, these are my friends, Reiner, Bert, Annie, Sasha, Connie, Jean, Marco, Armin, and Mikasa.” the brunet said pointing to each person in turn. Some nodded, and the others smiled or waved. Levi, however, was still scowling at the ravenette, who returned it just as fiercely. Their staring contest was interrupted by the small blond at the table, Armin, if he recalled correctly.

_ __ _

“It’s nice to meet you Levi! Where did you move here from? If you don’t mind my asking.” Levi did, however mind his asking. The boy was smiling too brightly and his voice was too cheery. Levi could only deal with one excitable person, and that person didn’t seem too happy to see him. Instead, he’d rather pay attention to the girl beside him, as they had turned away and struck up a conversation, completely forgetting Levi. Needless to say, he was no longer in a good mood. 

_ __ _

“Trost.” Levi said plainly and turned back to his ‘lunch’, ending any and all conversation the blond would have with him. The chatter at the table resumed, but Levi hardly paid it any attention. He made several more attempts to talk to his boyfriend, but Eren always brushed him off and talked to one of his other friends. Becoming fed up with Eren’s blatant deflection of conversation, Levi stood abruptly, gripping his tray tightly.

_ __ _

“Excuse me.” he grumbled and left the table. Levi dumped his tray in the trash and left the cafeteria, going out to the courtyard. There were fewer students out there than in the cafeteria, Levi noticed, allowing his anger to get a better hold on him.

_ __ _

Eren had outright pretended that he didn’t know Levi at all. He played Levi off to just be the new kid and that frustrated Levi to no end. All of the excitement that he felt earlier in the day had quickly melted into anger. With a low growl of frustration, Levi threw his right fist at the wall next to him, his knuckles splitting open in an instant. His hand exploded in pain and he cradled to closely to his chest, muttering out a string of curses. He hadn’t let his anger overcome him like that since his dad left months ago.

_ __ _

Levi took off his bag and sat down, leaning his back against the wall he had just assaulted. Digging through his bag, he pulled out a small first-aid kit he always carried around with him and set to work bandaging his bruised, bloody knuckles. He winced at the pain radiating through his hand and wrist as he wrapped the gauze around it. A few bones were surely broken, or at least there was a sprain. Levi hated school nurses though, so he resolved to having his mother look at it when he got home.

_ __ _

After he finished, Levi packed up the kit and placed back in his backpack. When he looked up, he noticed a girl across the yard watching him. He shot her his best glare, but to his surprise, it didn’t affect her at all. Instead, it seemed to fuel her to come over to where he was sitting. Levi watched her jog over to him, her messy brown ponytail swinging behind her and her enormous glasses sliding down her nose. When she reached him she flung herself to the ground next to him. She was practically exploding with energy, Great, Levi thought.

_ __ _

“That’s some mean right hook you’ve got there. Too bad, you missed all the people and hit the wall instead.” the girl cackled at her own poor joke. Levi cringed inwardly and glared harder at her.

_ __ _

“I could let loose on your face instead.” he growled at her, but she just laughed harder, wiping tears from her eyes.

_ __ _

“Whoo, someone’s feisty! What’s your name Short-stack?” she asked, scooting closer. Levi turned his face up in disgust and scooted away from her. He didn’t know how he landed himself in this situation, but he was in no mood to deal with this crazy person. He didn’t think he’d ever be. The girl just laughed and raised her hands in a placating manner.

_ __ _

“My bad, my bad. How rude of me! I haven’t introduced myself yet! Hanji Zoe, scientist extraordinaire!” Hanji held out a hand to Levi to shake, but he only stared at it. That didn’t seem to put her off though, she just dropped her hand and continued rambling. 

_ __ _

“Not so friendly are you, huh? I’ve never seen you around here, you must be new,” she clapped her hands together in excitement. “I remember when I was new! I moved here in the eighth grade, right after Christmas break! Of course, since it was Winter, I was expecting lots of snow, but this place was as barren as the desert-”

_ __ _

Levi stood, grabbing his bag, still holding his hand close, and started walking off. He heard the girl behind him cackling at his behavior.

_ __ _

“Later Shorty! See you tomorrow!” She called after him, waving frantically. Levi rolled his eyes and walked back to his classroom, arriving a few minutes before the bell rang. He slumped in his seat, grimacing in pain from jostling his hand too much. He really needed to get it checked out. Looking at the empty seat next to him, Levi scoffed and pulled out his phone. He toyed around with it while he waited for the bell to ring and class to begin. He didn’t like Hanji, but he had to admit that she had distracted him from his problems with Eren for a few minutes. Now that he was alone, he started brooding again.

_ __ _

When Eren shuffled into the seat next to him, Levi stared pointedly at the table,willing himself to ignore his boyfriend. Could he even call him that anymore? Eren had seemed to have made it clear that Levi was nothing more than the new kid to him. Their previous years of friendship were gone through the window, and with it, apparently, their more intimate relationship. Why Eren had changed so quickly, Levi didn’t know, but he was pissed. He didn’t try to make any small talk during the next few classes. He only spoke to Eren when it was required of him, and even then, it was devoid of any trace of emotion or familiarity. If Eren wanted to pretend they didn’t know each other, Levi could too. He tried to ignore the pain in his chest when Eren didn’t act phased by Levi’s cold demeanor.

_ __ _

When the bell ended the school day, Levi grabbed his bag and made a break for his truck in the parking lot. His irritation and anger was quickly bubbling over and he could feel tears prickling in his eyes. He wiped his eyes furiously with his good hand, refusing to cry in front of everyone and walked faster to the lot.

_ __ _

When Levi got there, he unlocked the truck and climbed inside, throwing his bag into the passenger seat and slamming the door shut. He leaned his head back against the seat, closing his eyes and trying to control his rapid breathing. He sat like this for a few minutes until he heard a knock on his window. Opening his eyes and turning his head, he saw Eren standing outside of his truck. He rolled the window down slowly, wondering what the brunet was doing by his truck. 

_ __ _

“Hey,” Eren said when the window was down. “I wanted to say I’m sorry about how I was acting today. I’m really happy you’re back, I was just kinda distracted. Me and Ma got into it this morning about my grades from last year, you know she’s been up my ass about that for a while.” He laughed a little and shuffled his feet around a bit, looking down at the pavement. Levi blinked a few times, trying to process what Eren had said. 

_ __ _

“Anyway, I know she’d love to see you again, Dad too, and me of course, so maybe you could come over after school sometime? I know they’re both home tomorrow night, so you could come over for dinner or something.” Eren looked up at Levi, eyes hopeful. 

_ __ _

“Uh sure, I could drop by. Me and Mom are still unpacking the house, but I can come by for a while.” Levi said, still in disbelief. Eren smiled brightly at him and leaned in the window to peck Levi’s lips.

_ __ _

“Great, I’ll let my parents know.” He stepped back from the window, still smiling. “I’m really happy you’re back Levi, and I’m sorry about today.” Levi just nodded.

_ __ _

“So I’ll see you at school tomorrow then?” Levi asked. Eren shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets.

_ __ _

“Nah, I have doctor and dentist appointments tomorrow, but we’ll see each other afterwards when you come over.” he said. “I should get going though, Ma’s expecting me back home soon.” Eren leaned in and gave Levi a chaste kiss before turning and heading over to his own car. He gave Levi a wave before he drove away from the parking lot. Levi sat dumbfounded for a few minutes, before starting his truck and heading towards his own home.

_ __ _

As he drove, his mind raced, going over his conversation with Eren over and over. That was it? He had overreacted to Eren being distracted by his grades? He hadn’t even considered that Eren might have had something else going on that had nothing to do with Levi. He felt stupidly selfish for thinking it had to be something about him. Eren had his own life outside of their relationship, Levi knew that, so the fact that he failed to consider it riddled him with guilt. Levi felt bad that he had doubted his boyfriend when Eren had never done anything in the past to warrant Levi’s distrust. He would need to make it up to Eren somehow.

_ __ _

Pulling into the driveway of his house, Levi hopped out of the truck, disregarding his school bag, and headed inside. Their house wasn’t anything extravagant, since it was just Levi and Kuchel. When he entered, Levi called out to his mother, letting her know he was home before heading into the kitchen.

_ __ _

He hopped up onto the counter and waited for his mother to come out of her room to greet him. When she appeared in the doorway, she was smiling but it quickly turned to a frown when she spotted her son’s hand.

_ __ _

“What happened? Why didn’t the school call and tell me you got hurt?” she rushed over the Levi, taking his injured hand in hers gently and examining it.

_ __ _

“I was upset and I punched the wall harder than I had intended. I didn’t go to the nurse, so that’s why they didn’t call.” he shrugged his shoulders and winced slightly as his mother pulled the bandages off.

_ __ _

“I think you broke something, but I’ll have to take you to the hospital to get it x-rayed to be sure.” Kuchel sighed and went to go grab her purse and keys. When she returned she helped Levi down from the counter and led him out to her small Prius.

_ __ _

“Do I even want to know what you were so upset about?” she asked cautiously as she began driving to the hospital. Levi shook his head.

_ __ _

“Well other than that, how was school? Was Eren excited to see you?” Kuchel glanced over at Levi in time to see him smiling a little at the mention of his boyfriend.

_ __ _

“Not at first. Not all day really. He and Carla got into it about his grades again this morning, so he was distracted. He asked me to come over after school tomorrow though to see his parents and spend some time together.” Levi told her. “But I’ll be back before night so I can help finish unpacking.”

_ __ _

Kuchel waved her hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it, you haven’t seen him in years, enjoy your time together.”

_ __ _

They arrived at the hospital and Levi was seen quickly. The doctor informed him that he had broken his trapezium bone, as well as his thumb. His wrist was fractured and he would need to be put in a plaster cast. Levi pouted about it, but Kuchel reminded him it was his own temper that got him into the situation. After he was put into his cast and given a prescription for pain medicine, the two headed home.

_ __ _

By the time Levi walked into the house he felt the exhaustion of the day getting to him. He bid his mother goodnight before going to his room. He quickly showered and brushed his teeth in the adjoining bathroom before crawling into his bed. He grumbled to himself about how he’d failed to keep his cast dry in the shower and hoped that it wouldn’t mess it up. Before going to sleep, he checked his phone and smiled, seeing he had a message from Eren. He read it quickly, his smile growing wider as he responded. Afterwards, he plugged in his phone, set his alarm, and laid down, letting sleep take him quickly.

_ __ _

**22:27 Bright Eyes:** Goodnight Levi, I love you :)****

_ _ ** **** ** _ _

**22:33 Levi:** I love you too****

_ _ ** **** ** _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know if you find any spelling errors or anything else I should know :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Use of homophobic language. I do not agree with, nor condone the offensive language or ideals in this chapter.
> 
> Hey guys, I'm back! I finally finished moving, which is what kept me from updating for the last few days, but hurray! I'm all moved into my dorm. I start classes on Wednesday, so I'll try to update one more time before that. After that, I'm not sure when I'll be updating again, but I'll try my hardest to not take forever.
> 
> Anyways, without further ado, please enjoy the next chapter!

The next day after school, Levi was exhausted, but excited to see Eren again. True to his word, the brunet had not been in school that day and Levi couldn’t help but miss him.

Driving with one hand in a cast proved to be difficult, but Levi refused to have his mother drive him around everywhere for the next three months. She allowed him to keep his truck keys on the condition that he always told her when he was driving, when he arrived at his destination, and where he was going. He supposed it was a fair deal, he had nothing to hide from his mother. Levi and Kuchel had always been close and she was lenient in her rules, as long as Levi was safe.

He parked on the street in front of the Jaeger house, as the driveway was already filled with other cars. He pulled out his phone , quickly texting his mother that he had arrived and got out of his truck. As he walked to the front door, he could already hear voices filtering out from the house. Levi rang the bell and waited patiently to be let inside. Eren appeared moments later, his face surprised before it turned into a nervous smile.

“Levi, what are you doing here?” Eren asked. His eyes moved down to the cast on Levi’s hand and he frowned. “Are you okay, did something happen?”

“You asked me yesterday to come after school, remember?” Levi said, choosing to ignore the inquiry about his hand. He didn’t want to explain to Eren why he had the bright idea to punch a wall.

“Oh my gosh, I forgot, I'm so sorry! I was in a bad mood after the dentist, so Armin invited everyone over to cheer me up. I hope you don’t mind, I completely forgot you were coming.” Eren explained and stepped out of the way to allow Levi in.

“Its fine.” Levi shrugged and followed Eren into the den, where he saw the same group from the lunch table the previous day.

“Yo, Eren invited the new kid!” a boy with a shaved head exclaimed when they entered. Levi couldn’t remember his name, but didn’t care. He scowled at the boy for calling him ‘the new kid’. Didn’t Eren’s friends have any manners?

“My name is Levi, you little shit, not ‘the new kid’. Learn some manners and respect for people and their names.” Levi snapped at him.

“Jeez, someone’s got their panties in a twist.” the boy grumbled. Levi’s eye twitched and Eren chose that moment to speak up.

“Okayyy we are here for a good time, not a hard time. Let’s make Levi feel welcome.”

The group mumbled their hellos, none sounding too enthusiastic, with the exception of Armin. The boy beamed at Levi like he’d just been given the best Christmas present ever. 

“I’m so happy you’re here Levi, I wanted to invite you along with everyone else, but I had no way to reach you, and no one had your number.” Armin said, still smiling. Levi chose to ignore the statement. It was obviously a lie, Armin probably hadn’t even tried getting his number. If he did, he would have gotten it from Eren easily.

He moved to sit next to Eren, but noticed that while he had been distracted by Armin’s spiel, Mikasa had taken up the one available seat next to the brunet. She gave him an icy glare, which he returned tenfold before going to sit next to Armin. 

“Is Carla here?” he asked aloud, though no one seemed to hear him but the blond next to him.

“No, but she’ll be back soon. She went to the store to grab us some more snacks, and a pizza.” Armin replied. He turned to Jean and began a conversation, leaving Levi to himself. 

Levi observed Eren’s friends around him. They seemed pretty close with not only each other, but with Eren as well. Levi found this odd, as he had never even heard mention of them until he started at Sina Rose. He didn’t think Eren would forget to tell him about his friends if they were so important to him, he couldn’t see a reason why he would.

Levi’s eyes wandered over to the brunet in question. Eren was engrossed in conversation with Reiner and Connie about some sporting event the night before. Levi watched him talk adamantly to his friends and felt a pang of jealousy. Eren had invited _him_ over, yet he’d hardly talked to Levi at all. Levi sighed and glanced at his phone for the time. After he saw he had been there half an hour by then, he decided that if Eren didn’t talk to him during the next thirty minutes, he was leaving. He had better things to do than to sit around and be ignored by his boyfriend again.__

_ __ _

When the end of the thirty minutes rolled around, Levi opted to stay twenty minutes more. Eren still hadn’t made his way over to Levi yet, but he was close, only a few feet away talking to Annie. As soon as Eren seemed to be done talking with her, Levi jumped at his chance.

__

“Eren,” he called out. Eren turned and looked at him before heading over to sit by Mikasa and talking to her. Levi stared in shock for a moment, then schooled his features into a deep scowl. Eren had blatantly ignored him. Heard him, looked at him, and _ignored him_. __

_ _ __ _ _

“Dude, I think Levi is jealous, look at his face!” Connie laughed and pointed at Levi. Levi directed his glare at him before Jean spoke up.

_ _ __ _ _

“Eren isn’t interested, sweetcakes, he’s straight as an arrow. Might wanna look somewhere else for your disgusting habits.” Levi’s mouth dropped open at Jean’s words. He looked over to Eren, who was suddenly very interested in the lint on the carpet. Looking around the rest of the room, everyone else was quiet but averting their eyes from his gaze. 

_ _ __ _ _

“Yeah, we don’t have any fags here, so you’d ought to get with it or get lost.” Reiner added. After a few moments, Levi closed his mouth, his face set in an impassive expression, stood, and left the room without another word. He heard Jean and Reiner continue to taunt him and throw around homophobic slurs, but he just continued on towards the front door. When he opened it, there stood Carla, her arms full of bags, struggling to pull her keys out. She looked up in surprise when she saw him standing there.

_ _ __ _ _

“Levi! Oh gosh, you came! Eren said you’d be coming over for dinner tonight, I had to run to the store to grab a few things, and then there was an accident on the highway and traffic, and oh gosh, I’m rambling, sweetie, how are you?” Carla gushed as she came into the house, setting the bags down and pulling Levi into a bone-crushing hug. Levi hugged her back gently before stepping away.

_ _ __ _ _

“I’m well, thank you. I’m sorry, but I actually can’t stay for dinner tonight. Mom called and said she needs me back at the house to help unpack.” Levi hated lying to Carla, but he needed to be out of that house as soon as possible. Carla simply nodded before hugging him again.

_ _ __ _ _

“It’s so good to see you Mouse, please don’t ever hesitate to visit us.” she said. Levi smiled a little at her old nickname for her before he waved and retreated to his truck.

Levi checked his tank to see how much gas he had and then texted his mother saying he was going for a drive and would be back later. He drove out onto the roads, eventually finding himself on the freeway. He sighed and settled in for the long drive with no known destination. It was going to be a long night, and boy, didn’t he have a lot to think about.

_ _ __ _ _


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'll try to update before Wednesday"head-ass
> 
> I'm so sorry y'all, I know it's wayyy past Wednesday, but I have a new chapter for you! Though, I hardly expect to be forgiven by the end of this, in fact, you may hate me even more. 
> 
> Alas, I hope you enjoy!

After hours of aimless driving, Levi was exhausted. His head hurt from thinking and overthinking, his wrist was stiff and aching in his cast, and he had no idea where he was. His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he had not eaten since lunch at school that day.

Sighing, Levi pulled into a truck stop and parked before killing the engine. He picked up his phone off of the passenger seat and turned it on, wincing from the bright light. Levi gasped in surprise when he saw the time was nearing 3 a.m. He had dozens of missed calls and texts from his mother and Eren. He ignored Eren’s, instead opening the thread of messages from his mother.

**Mom: I know you’re driving, just wanted to check in.******

** **** **

**Mom: Text me as soon as you can babe, making sure you’re okay.******

** ** ** **** ** ** **

**Mom: Levi?******

** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** **

**Mom: I’m really starting to worry******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

**Mom: Levi answer the phone.******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

**Mom: LEVI******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

**Mom: Please tell me you’re okay******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

**Mom: Levi why won’t you answer my calls??******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

**Mom: I’m really panicking Levi, tell me you’re alright!!******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

**Mom: If you don’t answer in the next fifteen minutes I’m calling the police******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

**Mom: Levi please, I’m so worried about you.******

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

The last two messages had been sent eight minutes ago. Levi quickly dialed his mom, cursing himself under his breath.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Levi?? Oh my baby boy, are you alright??” Kuchel’s panicked voice filtered through the receiver.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“I’m okay mom, I’m so so sorry, my phone was in the passenger, and I was so caught up in thinking, and I-”

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Where are you?? Do you have any idea how worried I was?? I’ve got the whole damn neighborhood looking for you!”

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“I know mom, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I’ll be home soon, I’m on my way back right now.” Levi put his phone down, putting it on speaker and restarting his truck.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Looking at his tank he cursed and looked up the nearest gas station on his GPS. Luckily, it was only five miles away. He nearly choked when he recognized the name of the city he was in.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“It, uh, it might take me awhile to get back actually,” Levi gulped. “I’m in Shiganshana.” he cringed as his mother screeched through the phone.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Shiganshana?? Levi, that’s halfway to Trost, what the hell are you doing out there?”

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“ I don't know, I was just driving! I'm getting gas and then heading straight home, Mom, I swear I’ll call you when I'm almost home.” he said and hung up.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Levi leaned his head forward on the steering wheel and heaved a sigh. He was so going to be in trouble when he got home. Thank god it was Saturday and he didn't have school. Levi sat up and pulled out of the lot and began his drive home.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

When he dragged himself into his house, Kuchel took one look at him and sent him off to bed, reminding him that he was in for the scolding of his life when he awoke. Levi hardly heard her, he just went to his room and collapsed in his bed. He didn't even bother changing out of his old clothes as he curled into a ball and let sleep overtake him.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

When Levi awoke, it was to the sound of the doorbell ringing repeatedly. He groaned and got out of bed, deciding that whoever was at the door could wait if his mother didn't answer. He grabbed a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and went into the bathroom.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

His disheveled hair and dark under-eye bags came as no surprise to him when he looked in the mirror. He simply changed his clothes and brushed his teeth before going to let in his visitor who was still attacking the doorbell.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

He had not been expecting the visitor to be Eren.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“What are you doing here?” Levi asked coldly.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“You’re safe, oh thank god” Eren surged forward to wrap his arms around Levi, but Levi stepped back out of his reach. Eren looked hurt and confused, his eyes searching Levi’s face.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“You shouldn’t be here.” Levi said.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“What are you talking about? You were missing Levi, I was worried sick about you.” Eren said.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Bullshit.” Levi spat out. “You’re fake and a liar and I don't want to see you.”

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Wh-why would you say that? I'm not lying, I really was worried about you! Why wouldn't I be, I love you Levi! I'm your boyfriend!”

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Were.” Levi deadpanned. Eren’s mouth fell open in shock.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“What? Wait, Levi-”

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“You were my boyfriend. Now I want nothing to do with you.” Levi started to close the door, but Eren stopped it with his foot.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Wait, Levi, what did I do? Why are you doing this? I thought you loved me, what are you doing? What did I _do_?” he pleaded, pushing the door back open. Levi stared at Eren, exasperated.__

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ __ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“What did you do? What did you _do_? Nothing Eren, you did nothing! That’s what you did! You did _nothing_ while your friends _insulted_ me, while they called me a faggot and a cocksucker while they berated me for loving another man, for loving _you_! You did nothing to defend me or our relationship. They don’t even know you’re gay!” Levi fumed. He pushed at Eren’s chest, shoving him back a few steps. Pain shot through his wrist, but he ignored it.________

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“And you have the _audacity_“ he shoved Eren again. “to stand here and ask me what you _did_?? Go to hell Eren!” Levi screamed. He could feel tears pricking his eyes but he didn’t try to stop them. He let them fall. He wanted Eren to see how badly he had hurt him, wanted him to see all of the years of love and friendship and trust he was throwing away.____

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Eren stared blankly at Levi before he nodded slowly.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“Okay.” he said softly and retreated down the driveway to his car. He drove off leaving Levi barefoot on his porch to cry after him.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Levi stood there crying until his mother came out to bring him back inside. She led him to the kitchen and sat him by the counter before turning to make tea.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Levi was conscious of his mother moving around him but he felt too numb to react. He didn’t look at her when she set the steaming cup of tea in front of him. It wasn’t until his tea had long since gone cold that he lifted his red rimmed eyes to meet her stormy blue ones.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“It hurts.” Levi whispered hoarsely. Kuchel set down her own cup and moved to envelop her son in a hug.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“I know it does, love.” she said softly. Levi let out a broken sob and clutched his mother’s shirt.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

“It hurts so much.” he cried into her hair.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Kuchel ran her fingers through his hair, shushing him quietly. She had heard everything that happened on the porch and knew that what her son needed right now was for her to be there for him. Be there while he tried to pick up the remaining pieces of his heart that Eren left behind.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know last chapter was pretty short, but I just couldn’t find a way to make it work with this chapter so I split them in two, so here you go!
> 
> Also, I have decided that the weekends will be my official update days. I have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off from school, so those will be my designated writing and posting days. I do intend to finish this fic within a reasonable amount of time, so pleaseeee bear with me.
> 
> And without further ado, here is the second part of the chapter, told from Eren’s POV. Since they were supposed to be one chapter, but they’re split, this one is also a little on the short side, I apologize. But it is important!

Eren had fucked up. He had fucked up badly.

Levi had always been a very harsh person, there was no denying that. When they were younger, the kids on the playground would flee from him when they saw him coming. His near permanent scowl was enough to frighten any child, he didn’t even need to open his mouth to say a word. Every kid was afraid of the raven. 

Every kid except Eren. 

Eren had been fascinated instead of intimidated by Levi’s cold demeanor. Instead of running away, Eren was drawn to Levi. He didn’t know the other boy’s story, he didn’t know why he seemed so angry all the time, but Eren knew that Levi didn’t have any friends, and that to Eren was like death itself. 

Eren often prided himself on his ability to make new friends wherever he went. He was always kind and smiling, others just had a hard time being in a bad mood around him. A ball of sunshine, his mother called him.

Maybe he could be the sunshine for Levi. 

It was during recess, near the end of the school year that Eren made his move. He had been waiting with more patience than one would expect from a six year old for the right moment to talk to Levi, and that time had come.

_“You’re too short to be a first grader, you’re just a baby.” The brunette girl taunted. Levi stared at her blankly, his usual scowl replaced with an impassive expression.___

_ __ _

_“Actually, just a big baby. He’s already seven but he’s not even with the second graders. So he’s a big DUMB baby!” Another child taunted.___

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

_Eren watched the brunette, Ymir, push Levi before he sprung into action.___

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

_“Leave him alone!” He yelled and charged for the two bullies. They easily sidestepped Eren, allowing him to sprawl on the floor scraping his knees. _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_The other kids on the playground began laughing at him and Eren felt the heat of embarrassment spread across his face, but he was not so easily put out. He quickly climbed to his feet again and charged after the brunette girl letting out a battle cry.___

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

_This time, instead of simply stepping out of the way, Ymir moved to the side and grabbed Eren’s shirt as he came closer, flinging him to the ground. Eren let out a short cry when he hit the floor again.___

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

_He felt the small foot of Ymir plant itself firmly on his back, pinning him effectively.___

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

_“Stay down, or I’m gonna have to hurt you more.” She sneered. Eren heard rather than saw the sickening crack and Ymir’s wail as the pressure was suddenly released from his back.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Touch him again, I dare you.” Eren rolled over to see Levi standing over Ymir, who was laying on the floor covering her nose with a bloody hand. Eren couldn’t see his face, but he knew Levi was livid.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“What in the world is going on over here?” A teacher came over, pulling Levi away from Ymir before helping her to her feet.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“That kid’s crazy! He punched me for no reason!” Ymir yelled, still clutching her nose. Levi said nothing, only turned to Eren and helped him to his feet.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“I don’t need you to save me, I can do it myself.” He told Eren before he followed the teacher to the office.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_The following day, Levi hadn’t been at school. Eren overheard from some teachers that he had been suspended for the day. Eren felt bad that Levi got in trouble for him, but swore to himself that he would make it up to the raven.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_When Levi came back to school, Eren was surprised that Levi sat next to him first._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“How are your knees?” He gestures toward Eren’s band aid covered knees.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Um, they’re okay. My dad’s a doctor so he made them feel better.” Eren told him. “Did you um, did you get in a lot of trouble with your mom and dad?”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Levi shook his head. “No, they weren’t mad. They always tell me to stand up for myself.”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Oh good, I thought I got you in trouble.” Eren breathed a sigh of relief. His plan to be Levi’s sunshine wouldn’t work if he made Levi dislike him.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Why’d you stand up for me?” Levi asked. Eren looked at him incredulously.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Because she pushed you! She was being a bully!”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Yeah, but not a bully to you. Why does it matter what she does to someone else?” Levi retorted.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Because. Nobody should be bullied.” Eren said, his teal eyes shining with determination. Levi stared at him for a moment before nodding his head. Eren beamed at him, happy that he had gotten some kind of approval from the raven.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“So, you wanna be my friend?” The brunet asked.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Okay.” Levi answered.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

From then on, Levi and Eren had been inseparable. Eren remembered that day vividly, he thought about it often after Levi moved away. He thought of it as the day Levi became his, and he always turned to the memory whenever he felt happy.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Now all he felt was pain. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Levi had broken up with him. For good reason too, Eren knew. This wasn’t something he could easily fix or slap a band aid over, and he didn’t want to. He had hurt Levi in one of the worst ways possible, he knew Levi had always felt insecure about his sexuality. Even understood that insecurity, more than anyone, but he never told Levi that. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

When they had first started dating, even though they were miles apart, Levi had still been very private about their relationship. He was afraid of being judged or rejected because of his sexual preferences and he had made that known to Eren from the beginning. It actually hadn’t been that long ago that Levi finally had become comfortable in his own skin and was open about his sexuality. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

And Eren had just done the Irish jig on all his progress. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He was an asshole, he knew that. Levi deserved better, he also knew that. But despite his actions, or lack thereof, Eren actually loved Levi, very deeply. Levi had let in Eren and no one else, had always made sure Eren knew the other loved him and cherished him, even before their more intimate relationship. They were always supposed to be friends. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Levi will you be my boyfriend?”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Levi put down the shirt he was folding and looked at the screen, confusion written all over his features. “What?”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Will you be my boyfriend?” Eren repeated the question. He looked at Levi with a determined, yet nervous expression while pulling the hem of his hoodie in his hands.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“I mean, we’ve been friends a long time, longer than we’ve been friends with anyone else, and I know we trust each other a lot and I just thought that maybe it would be a good idea, I mean, at least as our first relationship, you know? And if it didn’t work out, I know we could still be friends and it wouldn’t be weird, so I thought -”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Okay.” Levi cut off Eren’s rambling. Eren stared wide-eyed at the camera with his mouth gaping open and closed like a fish.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Huh?” he finally managed to choke out.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“I said okay. I’ll be your boyfriend.” Levi said simply, ignoring the blush that crept over his cheeks. Eren’s face flushed and he scratched the back of his neck, grinning shyly.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Yeah, okay.”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Now Eren had lost the one person who had been more important to him for over ten years. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

And it was his fault. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Eren laid in his bed staring at the blue ceiling until the tears in his eyes blurred his vision. He had to make this right, he had to. He had to win Levi back, even if it meant exposing his secret to the whole school.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, yeah, I've been gone awhile hahaha...
> 
> college is a lot harder than I thought, but on the bright side, I'm on Winter break! which means lots of freetime, lots of boredom, and hopefully, therefore, lots of updates. my goal is to have this story finished before I go back to school so that y'all wont have to worry about me never updating again.
> 
> Ignore that bullshit about me posting on the weekends, I clearly did not stick to that.
> 
> So, without further ado, here goes the next chapter!  
Enjoy!

On monday, Levi refused to acknowledge Eren’s presence in the seat next to him. Eren had practically begged Levi to speak to him, but Levi ignored him. He really hadn’t even felt up to going to school that day, but his mother wouldn’t have him moping around the house about his boyfriend, or lack thereof. She’d practically dragged him out of bed and forced him to shower, but no one would ever know about that besides them. Levi was sassy, he was determined, he was a ball of fire. He could not be seen as weak, or heartbroken over some boy who didn’t care for Levi as Levi cared for him.

With that thought, Levi walked through the school halls with his head held high. Even though he was eating alone, he ate with pride. He ignored the obvious glances and stares from Eren’s table of friends. He ignored the snide comments and homophobic slurs that followed him around the halls. Yes, he was gay, yes, he cared what other people thought, but he sure as hell didn’t show it. Levi Ackerman was strong and independent, and he did not need a man.

Or so he thought.

As the week went on, Levi still kept his facade, but he felt his resolve cracking. Not that he wanted him to, but Levi was disappointed that Eren had seemed to have given up on trying to win Levi’s forgiveness. To him, that meant that Eren really hadn’t treasured his relationship with Levi as much as he said he did. And why not? Had Levi not been good enough? Had he not been a good boyfriend to Eren for the two years they had been together? It hurt to think that Eren was able to get over Levi so easily, while Levi himself struggled to get out of bed every morning.

Having been so caught up in his troubles with Eren, Levi didn’t notice when an excited brunette plopped down in the seat next to him in the cafeteria.

“Shorty! Long time, no see! How’s the hand? I see you got some real bandages, and not the ones from your mediocre first aid kit.” Hanji practically shouted in his ear. Levi flinched away before turning and fixing her with a glare. The crazed girl only cackled and threw her arm around his shoulder.

“Ahh good times! I was there you know, when the little munchkin broke his wee little hand,” Hanji rambled on to a rather large blond man sitting next to her. Levi raised an eyebrow at the blond’s own, likening them to caterpillars in his mind. He had no idea who this guy was, but when he offered Levi an apologetic smile, he assumed the kid must have been a friend of Hanji’s. He shrugged her arm off of him and pushed her further down the bench until their thighs weren’t touching.

“Haven’t you ever heard of personal space, Shitty glasses?” he snarled. Much to his dismay, the girl only laughed and scooted closer to him once more.

“Haven’t you ever heard of losers? Seriously, you look like one sitting here alone everyday. I thought I’d offer my services and be your generous companion. Along with my friend Erwin, here.” she jabbed a thumb in the blond’s direction, who in turn offered his hand to Levi.

“Erwin Smith, a pleasure to meet you.” The large man said. Levi simply stared at his outstretched hand before responding dryly.

“Can’t say the same.”

Hanji cackled once more, causing Levi to flinch. Her over-enthusiastic laugh was giving him an ear-splitting headache. 

“For your information, I prefer to sit alone, so get lost.” Levi said coldly, however, was not surprised when Hanji, once again, just laughed in his face.

“No can do Short Stack. I am single-handedly saving your life. You’ll thank me later.”

And he did.

Hanji and Erwin sat with Levi every single day since then. Eventually, he had given up on insulting her and settled for accepting that his fate was sealed. These two had glued themselves to Levi’s hip, and truthfully, he couldn’t say it had bothered him. They had been there during the nights when he would cry himself to sleep over Eren, and had been there during the days that he felt on top of the world. Levi was beyond grateful for everything the two of them had done for him. Erwin had even convinced Levi to get back into skating after watching Levi perform a short program for him during the winter break. 

_Erwin whistled lowly and clapped as Levi came to a graceful, yet powerful halt when the music ended. Levi looked up at him, his face flushed from a combination of exertion and embarrassment.___

_ __ _

_“Levi, why would you ever quit skating? You’re phenomenal!” Erwin exclaimed as he helped Levi off the ice and handed him his blade covers. Levi took them gratefully and slide them on his boots before removing his white,fluffy earmuffs that Hanji had gifted him.___

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

_“I needed to focus on school. Besides, I reached my peak already, it’s only downhill from here.” Levi took a long sip of his water, still attempting to catch his breath. Erwin stared at him incredulously before grasping Levi by the shoulders and shaking him, causing Levi to choke a bit on his water.___

_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

_“Are you crazy?? Levi, you’re one of the most talented people I’ve ever seen in my life! How can you think you aren’t?”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Levi shrugged off the giant’s hands and wiped his mouth.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“I haven’t practiced in months, what you just saw was possibly one of my most shittiest performances.”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“If that was shitty, I can’t even fathom what amazing looks like.” Erwin said, a serious expression on his face. “I’m serious Levi. You’re too good at this to give it up. At least think about it.”___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Levi nodded. He knew Erwin was right. His school load hadn’t been as extensive as he had originally thought it would be, so he definitely would have the time to pursue skating again if he really wanted to. Time wasn’t what was holding him back though. His father had left Levi and his mother because of Levi’s decision to quit when his encroaching fame was within his fingertip’s reach. He couldn’t live with himself if he took up the very sport that had caused his mother her divorce and added stress of raising a child on her own. No matter how many times Kuchel told Levi that there were other factors to their divorce, and that her and his father had just not been meant to be, Levi still blamed himself for it everyday. His decision to quit had been the last straw for his father, and he couldn’t help but think that if he had kept skating, his father would still be around.___

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_“Just think about it.” Erwin repeated softly, drawing Levi from his thought. Levi knew that Erwin had been studying him and could tell that Levi was conflicted with himself. He appreciated that Erwin understood and didn’t push him further._

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __________________

_ _ _   
_ _ _

__“Thanks. I will.”___ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

Despite his guilt over his parents’ divorce, Levi ended up joining a small intramural team with his mother’s encouragement. Kuchel had been ecstatic when Levi had shyly told her that he wanted to get back into skating. Without her enthusiasm and support, Levi doubted he would have taken what Erwin said seriously. Now he had finished his junior year, and was looking ahead at making it to nationals.

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

“Run through it one more time, and then we’ll go grab something to eat.” Erwin shouted to Levi across the ice. Levi groaned and skated groggily back to his starting position in the center of the ice. His body ached, and he was tired of the amount of choreography that was incorporated into this program.

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

When he had decided to get back into the sport, Erwin had made himself Levi’s personal manager, and always sought out routines and choreographers that he believed suited Levi’s persona. As a result, Levi was always doing elaborate programs that often left his body exhausted and running on fumes. Today was no different. 

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

“Fine, but this is the last time. If I have to pop my shoulders much more today, they’re going to dislocate themselves.” he grumbled. Erwin chuckled and winked at Levi as Poker Face flooded through the speakers once again.

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

Levi sighed, pretending to be upset, but on the inside, he was grinning. Although he always acted exasperated with their enthusiasm and energy, he was fortunate to have found friends in Hanji and Erwin. They pushed him to better himself everyday, and never let him take a step backwards without taking two steps forward first. He prayed everyday that nothing would ruin his hard earned peace.

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

Too bad his prayers went unanswered.

_ __ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ __ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment, they always make me happy :)


End file.
